The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1887-03-10
SNOW DRIFTS
BLOCK TRAVEL ALL OVER NEW
ENGLAND,
Portland Nearly Shut Up by the Storm

Advices from Portland, Me-, March 6,
state that this has been the great storm Of the
year. According to the signal officer snow
to the depth of eighteen inches has already
fallen, and the end is apparently not yet
Tbs wind has begun to pipe and the streets
are uncomfortable in the extreme. what
with drifts every few rods, and snow>slides
frequently coming down on heads, life out
of doors IS a burden. The railroads will be
in bad fix Along the line of the Hrand
Trunk the snow has come down In blocks
as one man expressed it, The report from
Berlin Falls there would be q perfect block,
ade, with three feet of snow OF the level ana
the wind drifting it solid. Since that time
the situation has become worse, not only be
tween those two points, but all along the
line. The trouble will be-" said railroad
man, that the cuts will be drifted in solid,
and it will be like cutting the way through
sand. The quantities of snow on each side
of the track, instances for miles at a stretch,
will make the blockade the more pc 1ect.
The snow cannot b. p led on tho side oil the
track and it bothers the railroad men 10
know what to do with it.
The Portland and Ogdensburg will suffer
BADLY, al hough before the storm set IN that
line was not blockaded; but rairoadlng
through the mountains had become very tedi-
GUS work, Conductor Hartshorn's train
reached here last night after three days
battle with the mountain drifts. This year
well regulated freight trains must be fuily
provisioned and the trainmen go prepared to
board on their train. Conductor Hartst orn
and his men were we'll supplied with food,
but at times it seemed hat the snow
drifts would never yield. Four giant drifts
were encountered that baflled ali the efforts
of the mon. Three engines wero driven
sixteen times into it with full force before
the way was cleared. The first dash had
apparently no effect on the solid mass
OF snow, and when the final effort was made
and the barrier was flung aside tho three
great engines were enveloped in tn, snow
clouI Drifts of twenty-five feet in depth
are frequently 10 be met with in the moun-
tains 1t took week to make the trip up
and return. Thu snow now falling will make
the blockade all but complete. Reports re-
ceived from the surrounding towns indicate
that the storm has been even worse than here,
the force of the wind being very great For
practical purposes communication between
Portland and tho surrounding towns has
been very nearly cut off. Everything posi-
Die is being done to clear the tracks, except
on the Grand Trunk and the Portland and
Ogdensburg, where no effective work can be
| done to-day.
NEW BRUNSWICK RAILROADS BURIED.
| Such a universal blockade as has taken
| place on New Brunswick railways the past
three weeks has not been known for ten
| years On the New Brunswick railway be-
tween Gibson, Woodstock and Great Falls,
miles of t ack have been buried under seven
feet of snow Ploughi are useless, and all
| the men available wero organized as shovel
| lers. The Grand Southern railway between
| St John and ST. Stephen has been blockaded
week. The mails have been conveyed over
very roundabout road, gong hence 10
Vanceboro, thence to ST. Stephen and back
to St George. There has been no travel for
four days on the New Brunswick and Prince
Edward Island railroad from Sackville to
the cape. where connection is made with
Prince Edward Island The Indiantown
branch is to be closed for the winter, the
chief reason being the snowdrifts over the
line The Northern and Western road is i'm
passable from Gibson almost to the north
shore. The blockade on the Iuterc olonia
road is about over.